Marsupial | San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants ABOUT A koala joey peeks out of its mother's pouch. Wouldn’t it be cool if you could ride around in a backpack throughout your entire childhood? You’d never have to worry about falling off of Mom’s back or getting caught by predators! Well, marsupials are the kinds of animals that can do this. They are known as pouched mammals, because the adult females have a marsupium, or pouch. It is usually on the outside of the body where the young (called joeys) grow up. The pouch acts as a warm, safe place where the joeys grow. Like all marsupial females, the wombat has a pouch—but it opens toward the mother’s rear, rather than toward her head. This keeps dirt from filling up the pouch when the mother wombat is busy digging! Most adult female mammals give birth outside of the body. During development inside of the mother, the embryo is connected to the mother’s blood supply by a placenta. These are called placental mammals. Marsupials give live birth, too, but the embryo climbs from the birth canal to the pouch.

Once there, it attaches to a nipple and doesn’t let go because it can’t! The nipple swells in the embryo’s mouth so that it is only able to let go when it is more developed. SaveSave SaveSave HABITAT AND DIET Most marsupial females, like this red kangaroo mom, have an upward-opening pocket called a pouch, for their young. Most people think of Australia when they think of marsupials, because the most well known of the marsupials—koalas and kangaroos—live there. But opossum species, which are also marsupials, live in North, Central, and South America. Most marsupials have four small legs and feet, such as opossums and quolls. Kangaroos and wallabies have two large feet and two arms. On most marsupial females, the pouch is like a pocket opening upward. But the pouch of the Virginia opossum of North America and the wombat of Australia opens toward the tail. All marsupials have good hearing and a good sense of smell. Most walk on the ground or are good climbers, and one, the water opossum or yapok of South America, can swim!

Bandicoots, kangaroos, wallabies, and possums have two toes fused together. The numbat is the only marsupial active during the day—all others are nocturnal or crepuscular. The mountain pygmy-possum, which lives in the Australian Alps, is the only marsupials that can live in areas that get snow. Most Australian marsupials live in dry scrub or desert habitat. In South America, marsupials live in forests or tropical rain forests. Marsupials can live in any part of the forest habitat, from the trees to the forest floor where, like the wombat, they burrow underground. The Virginia opossum is North America's only marsupial. There's an old folk tale that opossum young were born in their mother's nose, then sneezed into the pouch. The Virginia opossum is the only marsupial found in North America. Its native habitat is moist forests, although it may also be in your neighborhood! It is an important part of our environment, acting as a scavenger to clean up trash, fruit, and dead animals.

If you spot one in your neighborhood at night, watch how it uses its dexterous tail and paws to get around. But for your own safety, don’t get too close: opossums can be fierce fighters! If it’s springtime, pay special attention—if the opossum happens to be a mother, you’ll see up to 13 babies hanging on to her back! Marsupials are pollinators and seed distributors. They control pests by eating insects and vermin. Some marsupials make habitats for other underground animals by digging their burrows or loosening up the soil. The Virginia opossum helps clean up the environment by eating carrion, rotting fruit, and other items we consider garbage. In fact, this animal is often found rummaging around in garbage cans! Bandicoots have two toes fused together, while other marsupials have separate toes. So, what’s for dinner? Marsupials have different types of teeth, depending on what they eat, from bugs to other smaller mammals or birds to fruit and seeds to eucalyptus leaves. Bandicoots, Australian possums, and American opossums are omnivores.

Wombats, kangaroos, and koalas are the herbivores. The rest are either insectivores or carnivores. Marsupials usually have more incisor teeth than other mammals do. SaveSave SaveSave FAMILY LIFE Most marsupials are solitary during the year, except when it is breeding season. Most males and females breed with different partners and then go their separate ways. Females raise their joeys on their own. Most females have some type of pouch for their young. But not all marsupial pouches are as deep as a kangaroo’s pouch. Unlike the koala or kangaroo, most marsupial mothers give birth to several joeys at one time. Their pouch is shallow. When the joeys are old enough, they can climb onto Mom’s back instead of creating a lot of weight for her to carry around in her pouch. When the joeys are born, they are much more helpless and undeveloped at birth than placental mammal babies. This is the reason for having the pouch—it protects the young, keeps them warm, and is the location where the joeys can get milk.

Once the joeys have attached to a nipple to nurse, they grow and develop there for weeks to months, depending on the species. Once the joeys are large enough, they leave the pouch and hang on to their mother’s fur instead. Mom and offspring can stay together for up to a year in some species! AT THE ZOO The San Diego Zoo has a variety of marsupials for our guests to view. Koalas, Tasmanian devils, wallabies, and tree kangaroos, can all be seen in the Zoo’s Australian Outback. Watch our koalas live anytime via our online Koala Cam ! CONSERVATION Marsupials often struggle to survive, and kangaroos are currently hunted for food and hides. The greater bilby Macrotis lagotis has decreased greatly over the years due to habitat loss from farming and introduced predators like feral cats and foxes. There are breeding programs for this species now, and they are being reintroduced into western Queensland, Australia, to repopulate their lost numbers.

The mountain pygmy-opossum Burramys parvus numbers less than 2,000 in the wild, due to construction of roads, dams, and ski resorts in its mountainous habitat. The hairy-nosed wombat Lasiorhinus graffiti has about 70 individuals left in one of the national parks in Queensland. This wombat is at critical risk due to overhunting for its thick fur. There are many more marsupials that are endangered or at critical risk, and several that have already gone extinct. Australia now uses various management practices to protect its marsupials. We also need to do our part to keep them around. Reduce your ecological footprint by recycling and being aware of the products you are buying and where they come from. These are all things you can do to help our pouched friends! You can help us bring species back from the brink by supporting the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy . Together we can save and protect wildlife around the globe.

LIFE SPAN 1 to 26 years, depending on species YOUNG Gestation: 8 to 46 days, depending on species Number of young at birth: 1 to 50, depending on species Number of young at birth: 1 to 50, depending on species Weight at birth: About 1 percent of mother's weight for total litter SIZE Length: Largest - male red kangaroo Macropus rufus, more than 6 feet (1.8 meters); smallest - Pilbara ningaui Ningaui timealeyui, 1.8 inches (4.6 centimeters) Weight: Heaviest - red kangaroo, up to 200 pounds (90 kilograms); lightest - Pilbara ningaui, .07 ounces (2 grams) FUN FACTS The Virginia opossum has 52 teeth, the most teeth of any North American mammal. The Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, was a striped, wolf-like marsupial now likely extinct. It was hunted by ranchers and farmers because it often attacked sheep and chickens.

Tall browsing kangaroos Procoptodon and Diprotodon from 12,000 years ago were the largest marsupials to live. They were about the size of today’s rhinoceros. Have Pouch, Will Travel Through its koala education and conservation program, the San Diego Zoo has assisted other facilities all over the world... What is the only native North American marsupial? | Reference.com What is the only native North American marsupial? A: Quick Answer The only native North American marsupial is the Virginia opossum, a solitary nocturnal animal and the largest type of opossum. It's a scavenger that eats roadkill, grass, nuts, fruit, mice, snakes, worms and small birds. Full Answer Marsupials are mammals that differ from other mammals in their anatomy and reproductive mode. The marsupial fetus does not fully develop in the mother's womb due to a lack of a placenta for nourishment. The newborns are tiny, blind and hairless. Immediately after birth, a baby marsupial crawls into its mother's pouch, where it receives nourishment from a nipple and is protected until it is able to care for itself.

Australia and New Guinea are home to the most diverse population of marsupials, which include kangaroos, wallabies and koalas. Marsupials Marsupials Science Main Index Marsupials are best known for the Australian members of the family, the kangaroo, wallaby and the koala. The only marsupial native to North America is the Virginia opossum. There are also some marsupials native to Central America and South America. Marsupials are members of the mammal family. However, they are different from other mammals because they have an abdominal pouch to carry their young. The marsupial female gives birth very early and the baby animal climbs from the mother's birth canal to her pouch. Here the baby marsupial continues to develop for weeks, or even months, depending on the species. At birth, marsupial babies are not fully developed. The baby's hind legs are just nubs. The baby lives and continues to develop in the mother's pouch. The pouch, or marsupium, also has the mother's mammary glands for feeding the baby. A baby kangaroo may live in its mother's pouch for 6 months.

Koalas and wombats are a little different from Kangaroos. While a kangaroo pouch opens upwards at the top, the opening of the koala and wombat pouch is lower and more downward facing toward the hind legs. The pouch has a strong muscle around the opening to prevent the baby from falling out. Want to learn more about marsupials? Check out our marsupial videos . Web Sites about Marsupials: 10 Facts About Marsupials 10 Facts About Marsupials By Laura Klappenbach Updated April 29, 2016. In this article, you'll learn interesting facts about marsupials and find out about their unique characteristics, their life cycle and their evolutionary history. FACT: Marsupials are divided into two basic groups. Marsupials belong to a group of mammals that includes two basic groups, the American marsupials and the Australian marsupials. American marsupials inhabit North, South and Central America and include two basic groups, the opossums and shrew opossums.

Australian marsupials inhabit Australia and New Guinea and include include animal groups such as the kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, quolls, wombats, numbats, possums, marsupial moles, bandicoots and many others. FACT: There are about 334 species of marsupials. There are about 99 species of American marsupials and 235 species of Australian marsupials. Of the all marsupials, the most diverse are the Diprotodontia, a group of Australian marsupials that includes about 120 species of kangaroos, possums, wombats, wallabies, and koalas. continue reading below our video 10 Facts About the Titanic That You Don't Know FACT: Marsupials are most diverse in Australia and New Guinea where there are no placental mammals. Wherever placental mammals and marsupials evolved side-by-side for long periods of time, placental mammals often displaced marsupials through competition for similar niches. In regions where marsupials were isolated from placental mammals, marsupials diversified.

This is the case with Australia and New Guinea, where placental mammals are absent and where marsupials were allowed to diversify into a variety of different forms. FACT: One species of marsupial that inhabits South America is more closely related to Australian marsupials than American marsupials. The monito del monte, a marsupial from Argentina and Chile, is more genetically similar to Australian marsupials than it is to the American marsupials with which it shares its continent. It is thought that the monito del monte's similarity to Australian marsupials supports the hypothesis that marsupials spread from South America to Australia by way of Antarctica at a time when those land masses were connected, between 100 and 65 million years ago. Fossil evidence also supports this theory. FACT: Marsupials do not nourish their embryos with a placenta. A major difference between marsupials and placental mammals is that marsupials lack a placenta while in the uterus. In contrast, placental mammals develop within the mother's womb and are nourished by a placenta.

The placenta—which connects the embryo of a placental mammal to the mother's blood supply—provides the embryo with nutrients, gas exchange and waste elimination. Marsupials, in contrast, lack a placenta and are are born at an earlier stage in their development than placental mammals. After birth, marsupial young continue their development nourished by their mother's milk. FACT: Marsupials give birth to their young very early in their development. When they are born, marsupials are nearly embryonic state. At birth, their eyes, ears and rear limbs are poorly developed. In contrast, structures that they need to crawl to their mother's pouch to nurse are well developed. This includes their forelimbs, nostrils, and mouth are well developed. FACT: After they are born, most young marsupials continue their development in their mother's pouch. They must craw from the mother's birth canal to her nipples, which are in most species located within a pouch on her belly. Once in the pouch, the newborn attaches itself to a nipple and feed on their mother's milk while they continue their development. When they reach a level of development similar to a newborn placental mammal, they emerge from the pouch.

FACT: Female marsupials have a double reproductive tract. Female marsupials have two uteri. Each uterus has its own lateral vagina and young are born through a central birth canal. In contrast, female placental mammals have only one uterus and one vagina. FACT: Marsupials move using a variety of methods. Kangaroos and wallabies use their long back legs to hop. When they hop at low speeds, it requires considerable energy and is quite inefficient. But when they hop at high speeds, the movement becomes much more efficient. Other marsupials move by running on all four limbs or by climbing or waddle. FACT: Only one species of marsupial inhabits North America. The Virginia opossum is the only species of marsupial that inhabits North America. Virginia opossums are solitary nocturnal marsupials and are the largest of all opossums. FACT: The smallest marsupial is the long-tailed planigale. Long-tailed planigales measure between 2 and 2.3 inches and weigh on average a mere 4.3 grams. Long-tailed planigales inhabit a variety of habitats in northern Australia including clay soil woodlands , grasslands and floodplains.

FACT: The largest marsupial is the red kangaroo. The red kangaroo is the largest of the marsupials. Male red kangaroos grow to be more than twice the weight of females. Male red kangaroos are rusty red in color and weigh between 55 and 200 pounds. They measure between 3¼ and 5¼ feet long. American marsupials | Order Didelphimorphia facts Order : Didelphimorphia More than 60 different kinds of oppossums live in South America and 1 in North America, the Virginia opossum didelphis virginiana . The name opossum is sometimes shortened to possum, which actually is the name for an Australian group of marsupials. These are distinct from opossums which are only found in North and South America. The Virginia opossum is probably best know for its last resort to escaping predators, "playing possum". As a last resort it can fake death to lose interest of its predator. The Virginia opossum is the only marsupial living in the wild in the US. They come in different shapes and sizes.

They are marsupials meaning that they have a pouch in which they can carry their young. They all belong to the family didelphidae . Some are living in trees and one, the water opossum or yapok, Chironectes minimus , is aquatic and his hind feet are webbed. The yapok is a long-legged opossum with a relatively broad snout, and a long, almost hairless, scaly tail except at its base. The water opossum is one of very few species able to forage in the trees and underwater. They can be found near streams or rivers in forested areas. Through evolution this marsupial has reversed the opening of its pouch so that the water doesn't force its way in when it is swimming under water. It is the only marsupial known to hunt in the water. They can weigh as little as 40 grams, mouse opossum, to up to 2 kilograms, didelphis virginiana . Some are very rare, but it is unclear whether that has to do with opossums being nocturnal or that they are becoming extinct.

They have four claw-bearing toes and an opposable "big thumb", which they can move just like a thumb of humans, grabbing something and then move it back to walk or run. They use their prehensile tail for grasping. Animals in the order Didelphimorphia Natural History Collections: American Marsupials ORDER DIDELPHIMORPHIA FAMILY DIDELPHIDAE The 75 species in this family range from the very small fat-tailed opossum, only 100 grams in weight, to the larger Common Opossum, weighing 12 kg. Didelphids are widely distributed in the Americas, but are most diverse in the tropics of South America, from deserts to alpine regions and wet tropical forests. Most of the family are arboreal, spending most of their time in trees.Their hearing is thought to be very important as didelphids hunt in the dark and many have enlarged ears. Olfaction is also important in prey location. During the breeding season male didelphids generally become more active,whereas females become more sedentary, probably to conserve energy to build up the fat reserves needed to produce milk for the young.

The Common or Virginia Opossum, Didelphis virginiana The Virginia Opossum is the commonest didelphid. It lives in many different habitats - ranging from urban areas to forests - in North and South America. Opossums are about the size of domestic cats.They generally have white heads with brown/black, coarse fur. The males are larger than the females.Like most marsupials they are nocturnal, but forage during the day in winter. They have long, scaly, prehensile tails which help them to climb; contrary to belief they cannot hang by their tails due to their size. When the climate becomes cold, they may go into a state of torpor. Virginia opossums are omnivorous, feeding on arthropods, fruit, leaves, carrion and rodents. Their 50 teeth (I5/4; C1/1; PM3/3; M4/4) help them eat this wide of food. Their opposable thumbs enable them to manipulate their food with ease and grasp branches when climbing. These opossums breed twice a year, between January and February, and in August.

Their litters of 8 - 10 young are born 12 - 14 days after conception. They are carried in the pouch for 2 - 3 months, after which they ride on their mother's back for another 1 - 2 months. They become sexually mature at 6 months. Only the female rears the young as this opossum is a solitary species, with individuals only coming together for the breeding season. The female stays in her home range for life. The male has a semi-permanent home range, depending on the abundance of food. Virginia opossums are generally placid, but if threatened hiss and growl and bare their teeth. Thay also produce a particularly unpleasant scent to ward off predators, such as owls, coyotes, dogs and man. Opossums are slow-moving and fairly easy prey, so they tend only to live for 1 - 2 years in the wild due to predation and collisions with cars. In captivity they may live for up to 10 years. Arboreal Didelphids, mouse and woolly opossums The morphology, behaviour and diets of arboreal didelphids resembleprosimian primates.

They are all predominantly nocturnal. Their big toes are opposable and their prehensile tails allow them to grasp onto branches leaving their hands free to forage. The slow movement and diet, fruit, nectar and gum, of woolly opossums resembles those of Lorises. Up to seven species of didelphids may live in one tree, as seen in different species of primates. Competition is avoided through differences in size and climbing abilities. Some, such as the woolly opossums, live high in the tree canopies, feeding solely on fruit and nectar. Others, such as the common mouse opossum, live and feed in the middle canopy or the lower regions of the trees.Some become terrestrial in times of high competition. Ground-dwelling didelphids may eat carrion and live vertebrates, including small mammals. The Yapok or Water Opossum Chironectes minimus The Yapok is the only truly aquatic marsupial. It has adapted to an aquatic life by losing some of the opposability in its thumb and having webbed feet that enable it to move swiftly in water.

Both male and female yapoks have pouches.The female's pouch forms a water-tight compartment which protects her offspring when she dives; the male's scrotum can be pulled into his pouch allowing him to move more swiftly in water. The yapoks' diet has not been studied extensively, but they are believed to be both insectivorous and omnivorous, feeding opportunistically on animals such as cray-fish. Yapok's breed between January and December and raise litters of 1 - 5 offspring. They are anti-social animals, the sexes only come together to breed. The young leave the pouch after 48 days but remain close to their mother. Yapoks are not believed to be endangered. A Yapok Chironectes minimus Marsupial Mammals Marsupial Mammals Marsupials are the group of mammals commonly thought of as pouched mammals (like the wallaby and kangaroo at left). They give live birth, but they do not have long gestation times like placental mammals . Instead, they give birth very early and the young animal, essentially a helpless embryo, climbs from the mother's birth canal to the nipples. There Red-necked Wallaby.

Photo by Gerald and Buff Corsi, © 2002 California Academy of Sciences. Red Kangaroo. Photo by Gerald and Buff Corsi, © 2002 California Academy of Sciences. it grabs on with its mouth and continues to develop, often for weeks or months depending on the species. The short gestation time is due to having a yolk-type placenta in the mother marsupial. Placental mammals nourish the developing embryo using the mother's blood supply, allowing longer gestation times. Like other mammals, the marsupials are covered with hair. Mothers nurse their young  a young kangaroo may nurse even when it has grown almost to the mother's size. The only naturally occurring marsupial in the United States is the opossum, Didelphis virginiana. In the past, however, marsupials were quite common. During the Mesozoic marsupials were very common in North America; more common, in fact, than placental mammals. They persisted here until the mid- to late- Tertiary . Koala. Photo by Gerald and Buff Corsi, © 2002 California Academy of Sciences. Wombat. Photo © 2005 Sharon Chester.

In South America and Australia, however, marsupials continued to be an important group of land mammals. Many South American forms are similar to the North American opossum. The marsupials of South America began to go extinct in the late Miocene and Early Pliocene when a land connection with North America formed, allowing placental mammals to cross into South America. In Australia, though, marsupials continue to be very diverse, and are the dominant native mammals. They include kangaroos, koalas (above left), tasmanian devils, wombats (above right), and other typical Australian mammals. Until recently, they also included the marsupial wolf, Thylacinus (below). Like the quagga, the marsupial wolf is now extinct. The last individual was seen in Tasmania in the 1950s. Thylacinus, an extinct marsupial wolf. Though marsupials today do not have as many species as do the placental mammals, they are quite structurally diverse. They range from small four-footed forms like the marsupial mole, Notoryctes, to the large two-legged kangaroos.

There are several cases of convergent evolution between marsupials and placental mammals, in which the two animals have evolved to fill the same ecological niche in different parts of the world. There are burrowing forms, grazing forms, gliding forms, and even long-snouted ant-eating forms which have evolved independently in the two groups. 2 The opossum is the only Marsupial native to North America 3 - WIS - 2040 View Full Document 2. The opossum is the only Marsupial native to North America. 3. Rhesus macaques (monkeys) released in Florida were originally trapped in India . 4. There are approximately 4600 species of modern mammals. 5. Mammals have three middle ear ossicles whereas reptiles have one. 6. The bandicoots are an example of an insectivorous marsupial. 7. True : Rhesus macaques (monkeys) are able to swim. 8. There is not a marsupial morphological/ecological equivalent to the placental bats . 9. The Florida Mouse is typically found in close association with gopher tortoises . 10.

A large spur with a venom gland is found on the hind leg of male platypuses . 11. All mammals have dentary-squamosal jaw articulation. 12. Ever-growing incisors are characteristic of the rodents . 13. The order Chiroptera is the second largest order of placental mammals. 14. The Numbat is actually the marsupial equivalent of the anteaters of South America. 15. Long-beaked Echidna now occur only in New Guinea . 16. Rhesus macaques (monkeys) in the Florida Keys have destroyed mangroves . 17. The Cynodonts were mammal-like reptiles that had various combinations of mammalian and reptilian characters. 18. A company from New England released Rhesus Macaques onto Key Lois and Raccoon Key in order to produce a population for biomedical studies . 19. The Defenders of Wildlife (an NGO) challenged the USFWS decision not to list the Florida Black Bear as endangered or threatened. 20. The Thylacines were exterminated in Tasmania by sheep growers in the 1930s. 21.

The Key Deer population in the Florida Keys has increased due to protection from hunting and increased availability of freshwater . 22. State wildlife biologists argued for the construction of culverts under the highway near Wekiva, Florida to protect wandering Black bears . 23. The rhesus macques released in the Florida Keys were said to be free of Herpes B . 24. Long-beaked Echidnas now occur only in New Guinea . 25. In 1994, 29 reindeer were released onto St. Matthew Islands and 20 years later they had increased to nearly 6000 individuals. 26. Key deer in Florida numbered roughly 25 individuals in 1957 before wildlife managers began their program to help them. 27. The grazing placental mammals belong to the order Artiodactyla . 28. The Florida Mouse lives mostly in sandy scrub habitats. 29. The first Rhesus macaques were released into the Florida Keys in 1970s . 30. The first mammals appeared in the Triassic . 31.

Twenty years after implementing several management practices, the mule deer herd on the Kaibab Plateau is said to have increased to 100,000 individuals. This preview has intentionally blurred sections. Sign up to view the full version. View Full Document Topic Thirteen 1. When populations are rare, management strategies should try to increase natality . 2. The term “rut” refers to the breeding season of deer. 3. Most wildlife species have evolved a restricted breeding season because of the huge energy expense of reproduction . This is the end of the preview. Sign up to access the rest of the document. TERM Moulton TAGS Exam 1, Exam 2, Wildlife, UF, Exercise 1, Exercise 2, Exercise 3, Wis 2040, Issues, Wildlife Issues, Exercise 4, Wis2040 Wildlife Issues in a Changing World WIS 2040 (sec. 2719) - Schedule S 2719 Schedule Spr 2016.pdf Virginia Opossum Facts: Animals of North America - WorldAtlas.com Virginia Opossum Facts: Animals of North America The Virginia Opossum is the only marsupial native to the United States.

Nocturnal Virginia opossums are commonly seen pilfering through human trash and being struck by motor vehicles in the Southeast U.S. 5. Physical Description Whether fair or not, Virginia Opossums are often characterized by a long face, that many people consider to resemble a big, ugly “grin. Adults usually weigh between 6 and 13 pounds, and their bodies, from nose-tip to tail-tip, are between 2 and 3 feet long. Up to half of this, however, is often in their thin, fleshy tails alone. Its binomial name, Didelphis virginiana, refers to the animal being “two-wombed” and hailing from an area that includes modern-day Virginia. They are a distant cousin of the Australian Possum, and in Mexico Virginia Opossums are known by variations of the name tacuachi. The species crossed from the lands of their South American relatives into Central America by way of the Panamanian Isthmus several million years ago. 4. Diet Virginia Opossums are omnivores, and will eat just about anything.

If you don’t believe this, just ask any homeowner in the rural Southeast United States what often happens if you leave trash out overnight on your back porch there. In the wild, Virginia Opossums will eat insects, crustaceans, mollusks, frogs, and reptiles living near streams, other small animals, and the meat and eggs of birds that make their nests on or close to the ground. Despite such a wide range of animal foods, Virginia Opossums get plenty of produce in their diets as wells, and they often exhibit special inclinations towards eating fruits, berries, nuts, and seeds. As nocturnal animals, most of this fare is consumed in the dark while many of their predators sleep. 3. Habitat and Range The nocturnal Virginia Opossum, or North American Opossum, is the only marsupial to be found naturally occurring in the New World north of Mexico. With more than 200 marsupial species naturally present in and around Australia, more than a hundred more additional species are native to South and Central America, whereas this curious marsupial stands alone as the only creature of its kind in Canada and the United States.

The Virginia Opossum has long been found in much of what is now Central America, Mexico, and the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. Increasingly, however, they have been pushing their bounds into Southern Canada, and have been intentionally introduced to the West Coast of the US during the past century. Due to their propensities for scavenging and thwarting predators, low susceptibility to diseases, and high birth rates, Virginia Opossums are considered to be animals of “least concern”. Immunologists may learn a great deal from Virginia Opossums, in that they have very low rates of diseases common to other wild animals, namely Rabies. This is partly due to their body temperatures, which are lower than those of many other mammals. Considered an overpopulated nuisance, may are trapped and poisoned where they are common, while some are hunted for their meat. Due to their high populations and ability to live in close proximity to humans, they are often seen on the side of highways as “roadkill” struck by motor vehicles. Despite being woodland creatures, human development seems to have little impact on their lives in comparison to how it has driven some other North American species to extinction or migration to new homes.

In fact, as adaptable in lifestyle as they are versatile in diet, many Virginia Opossums seem to revel in sleeping in storage buildings and eating from dumpsters. 2. Behavior Virginia Opossums have a large number of predatory enemies, and have come up with some unique ways to elude them. The term “playing opossum”, alluding to faking one’s incapacitated state, refers to the Virginia Opossums’ habit of collapsing and feigning death when in danger of losing its life to trick attackers. They may remain motionless for long hours, slowing their heart rate and emitting noxious gases to ward off carnivores. Still, due in large to their many predators, a relatively small percentage of babies survive into adulthood. Skilled climbers, Virginia Opossums usually make their homes in tree-lined within and around trees, but may take up residence in farmers’ barns and peoples’ sheds as well in search of warmth. While very active at night, they hide and sleep during the daytime. In the summer, they are lively travelers, and will rarely sleep in the same dens on consecutive nights. 1.

Reproduction Virginia Opossums are marsupials, meaning that females lack “functional” placentas for their babies to grow within. For this reason, while still in developmental fetal stages within the mother, babies are birthed into a pouch outside of the mother, wherein they grow and are sheltered as they nurse on their mothers’ teats until they are strong enough to be exposed to the external environment. Female Virginia Opossums normally have two litters per year, each having around 5 to 8 tiny opossum babies, which feed upon 13 nipples within the fur-lined pouches. Courtship usually involves males making a series of “clicks” to attract females to copulate with. Males do not help the females in rearing young, and leave her after mating. Young Virginia Opossums leave their mothers’ pouches and wander around on their own after they are around 4 months old and approaching 1 pound in bodyweight. The rapidity of this birth cycle is amazing, as the still-developing young will be birthed into the “marsupium” (the mother’s pouch) in around 12 days after conception.

These infants are so small that 20 of them could fit inside of a teaspoon. This page was last modified on February 5, 2016. On WorldAtlas.com Marsupial, Virginia Opossom | NCpedia Virginia Opossom Session Law 2013-189 , signed June 26, 2013, gave North Carolina the following state symbols: state fossil , state frog , state salamander , state marsupial , state folk art , and state art medium .

Excerpt from Session Law 2013-189, House Bill 830: Whereas, the Virginia opossum is native to North Carolina and is the only marsupial found in North America; the female carries its underdeveloped young in a pouch until they are capable of living independently, similar to a kangaroo; and Whereas, the Virginia opossum is one of the oldest and most primitive species of mammal found in North America; and Whereas, the Virginia opossum is about the size of a large house cat with a triangular head; a long pointed nose; dark eyes; a long, scaly, prehensile tail; and short, black, leathery ears; and Whereas, the Virginia opossum is nocturnal and lives in a wide variety of habitats, including deciduous forests, open woods, and farmland but prefers wet areas such as marshes, swamps, and streams... § 145‑44. State marsupial. The Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is adopted as the official marsupial of the State of North Carolina. Average: 4.4 (52 votes)

Question: What is the only marsupial native to North America?
Answer: Opossum